Contact Congresswoman Jayapal (again) now (202) 225-3106

Dr. Ana Malinow is a former president of Physicians for a National Health Program. She recently moved from Pittsburgh to the Bay area in Northern California. After a briefing on Congresswoman Jayapal’s soon to be introduced new Medicare for All legislation, she wrote the letter below to the Western Pennsylvania Coalition for Single Payer Healthcare and asked them to circulate it.

If you agree with Dr. Manilow’s concerns, we urge you to call Congresswoman Jayapal’s office (202) 225-3106 and urge her (1) to keep the HR 676 ban on for-profit hospitals and other institutions and (2) to include coverage for everyone regardless of citizenship status.

From: Ana Malinow

Sent: Wednesday, January 23, 2019 1:05 AM

To: Single Payer Activists

Subject: Must contact Congresswoman Jayapal (again) now!

Dear friends:

While I have not had a chance to read Congresswoman’s Jayapal’s single payer bill, I found out tonight that it does retain many of the critical components of HR 676. She is to be commended for improving upon the Senate Medicare for All Act by including global budgets, the separation of capital and operating expenses, long-term care, prohibiting value-based payment systems and ACOs and overturning the Hyde Amendment (which is an improvement on HR 676). All of this is great news. And a reflection of all the hard work you’ve already done.

However, unlike HR 676, her legislation would not ban investor-owned, for-profit hospitals, nursing homes, dialysis centers and other institutions, all of which provide inferior care at inflated prices. HR 676 called for the buy-out of investor owned facilities, and recently, Himmelstein and Woolhandler showed that this would not only be affordable, but would lower costs.

Two other items are important to mention as well: the transition period would last 2 years (instead of 1 year under HR 676 or 4 years under the Sanders’ bill) and while the term “all individuals residing in the United States” is apparently still in the bill, it is important that we insist that “all individuals” include everyone in and nobody out. This means citizens, non-citizens, immigrants and undocumented. Everyone.

The bill will likely be introduced the first week of February, so we must again, exert pressure on the Congresswoman. The bill must include:

A ban on all investor-owned, for-profit institutions; they should be converted to not-for-profit status.

Define all individuals to include everyone residing in the United States, regardless of citizenship status.